Daniel Rose: The Pastor Next Door

Good morning! May you do what you love today. #MorningMug #MorningBlessing!

I’m hoping to get a new installment of Disentangling Faith out today.

“I am impressed that when the Son of God became a human being he played by the rules, harsh rules: small towns do not treat kindly young boys who grow up with questionable paternity.”

I hadn’t thought of this, have you? The idea of Jesus growing up in a small town “with questionable paternity,” is one that kind of shakes me. Would I have mocked him? Would I have held him at arm’s length? Was he treated poorly even as a child?

Trying to wrap my mind around Jesus from the human perspective is proving to be a bit of a gut punch.

I just got thekjd.net set up on micro.blog! I’m so pumped. The Knee Jerk Devotional is officially on it’s own site with it’s own email subscription list! You can also follow it’s dedicated RSS: thekjd.net/feed

Because it’s on micro.blog it will show up on all the channels autmagically too.

Psalm 105:1-11, 37-45; Genesis 21:1-7; Hebrews 1:8-12

He remembers his covenant forever, the promise he made, for a thousand generations, the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac.

Reading all these passages together it strikes me this morning that I don’t necessarily have faith in any of this.

Do you?

Faith is “trust”.

When I take a deep look at much of how I live it is marked by lack of trust. I think, when I am honest with myself I live too much of my life as though God will not remember his covenant promises. If I did believe it, I think I would likely have a greater patience in prayer. I intellectually ascent to the things in these passages. I believe them. But, I don’t know if I faith in any of it.

There is critical distinction between faith and belief. Belief is something of the mind. Faith is rooted in trust which is displayed in action.

When was the last time that I prayed long and faithfully for something? Do I rest in the knowledge that God will work out all things for the good of those who believe? Too often I do not.

This morning I am wrestling with the following, “Do I have faith in any of this?”

Good morning! May you enter this week choosing the way of love, even loving your enemies.

If you’re someone who likes to listen to sermons, you can check out mine from this morning at Peace Presbyterian Chruch in Flint, MI: ordinary jesus - integrity

We explore Jesus’ call to “let your yes be yes and your no be no.”

Good morning! If you’re looking to connect with a faith community I’d love to invite you to our home this evening.

We gather tonight at 5:30 pm for dinner.

6:30 we will spend time in the Scriptures, communion, and prayer.

Our passage: Matthew 5:38-48

9016 Parkland Dr, Ypsilanti, MI 48197

The garage will be open, come on in!

Good morning! May you connect deeply with an authentic community today. #MorningBlessing #MorningMug

When ball games get delayed two hours and you’ve driven three hours away from home, you end up at Barnes and Noble to drink bad coffee, read, and write.

Good morning! May you find some rest today. #MorningMug #MorningBlessing

Do you ever have moments where gratitude washes over you?

I love it when that happens.

Psalm 22:23-31; Genesis 16:1-6; Romans 4:1-12

Genesis 16:1-6, which is the opening of the story of Hagar and Ishmael. This tells about how Abraham’s wife wanted a child so badly that she offered up her slave Hagar to Abraham and Hagar conceives. They took the promise God had offered in Genesis 15 into their own hands.

Romans 4:1-12 talks about Abraham’s faith being credited to him as righteousness.

When you read those two passages side by side it is shocking.

Abraham acts in a way that is anything but righteous. He impregnated a woman that is not his wife and he then leaves this woman to be abused by his wife.

Yet, Romans 4 reminds us that this righteousness that was credited to Abraham was not based on anything he did. It was based solely on the promise that God made. His righteousness was credited to him before this scene plays out.

Think about that.

Abraham is deeply flawed, deeply sinful, and in many ways pretty awful. So was his wife.

Yet, he is considered righteous in spite of this.

God’s grace is so overwhelming that even a man like Abraham can become the spiritual father of the nations. God’s faithfulness is greater than any man’s. God’s grace is beyond anything that we can ever imagine.

I am reminded by this passage that I don’t need to take things into my own hands. I can trust the God of grace to bring his plans to fruition. When I trust God there is rest.

Good morning! May you persevere with joy today. #MorningMug #MorningBlessing ☕️